Upcoming events at LGNC:
Join us for a virtual discussion of Susan Hand Shetterly’s Seaweed Chronicles!
About the Cabin Fever Book Club:
The Cabin Fever Book Club meets once a month during the fall and winter months to discuss fascinating books on such topics as ecology, environmental history, and environmentalism. The 2020-21 Cabin Fever Book Club meetings will take place from 10:00 a.m. to noon on the dates listed below! Books will be available at the Palmerton and Slatington libraries, Lehigh Gap Nature Center, and on Amazon.com (at a cost). Please contact us at mail@lgnc.org if you have any questions, or if you would like to lead a discussion!
Until we can safely meet in person again, all Book Club meetings will take place on Zoom.
2020-2021 Cabin Fever Book Club Reading List:
November 19, 2020: Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets
December 17, 2020: The Overstory by Richard Powers
January 21, 2021: Seaweed Chronicles by Susan Hand Shetterly
February 18, 2021: The Death and Life of the Great Lake by Dan Egan
Nature in Art Online for Kids! with Janniry
Explore the art in nature through online art classes with LGNC education intern Janniry Cabrera Belen! Children ages 5-12 and their families are invited to make crafts from natural materials that they can find outside their homes. On a live, interactive Zoom class, Janniry will guide participants through each craft, step by step.
Classes are FREE, but registration is required. Ahead of each class, we will publish a list of all materials (not provided by LGNC) that will be needed to complete the craft. The Zoom link will be shared with all families who register through EventBrite.
Friday, January 22 (4:00-5:00 p.m.): Cardinal Painting and Snow Slime!
Participants will make their own cardinal painting and snow slime! Materials needed ahead of class for the painting: blue construction paper, paint (red, brown, white, black, and orange), paintbrushes, and snowflake stencil (which can be printed from online or hand drawn); for the slime: 1/2 cup liquid starch, 1/2 cup Elmer’s or PVA glue, 1/4 cup artificial snow, bowl, plastic spoon, and measuring cups
Register here!
“Pennsylvania Farming: A History in Landscapes” — Sally McMurry, Ph.D.
Historian Dr. Sally McMurry will present a well illustrated “tour” of Pennsylvania that uses buildings and landscapes to tell the story of the state’s rich farming history.
Dr. McMurry is Emerita Professor of American History at Penn State University.
Click Here to register for this event! http://bit.ly/LGNC_Speaker_Series_4
About Our Virtual Speaker Series:
Typically, our Speaker Series events are held in-person, but this year we are going to be doing things a little bit differently. Speakers will be conducting their talks “virtually” through Zoom. Following registration, you will be provided with a link for a Zoom conference, which will give you access to the event at the scheduled date and time.
If you are familiar with and already have Zoom installed on your device, then you are all set. If you have never used Zoom before, no worries! Upon clicking the link, Zoom will automatically install itself and you’ll be ready to go! Zoom is a small, safe application that allows you to participate in video conferencing events such as this one! While a camera and microphone are not essential to view the presentation, they do make interaction with the speaker possible during question and answer sessions. Click here for more information on Zoom: https://zoom.us.
We hope to see virtually!
The Feeder Watch survey is conducted by volunteers who live within 15 miles of the Lehigh Gap area. Anyone in that geographic area with at least one bird feeder of any type in their yard, and who can identify the individual species of birds that visit the feeders, is invited to participate in the Feeder Watch. Volunteers are asked to spend a few hours throughout a specified day in February observing their feeders and recording any visitors. Feeder Watchers will also be asked to record weather data and feeder information.
The 2021 Lehigh Gap Area Winter Bird Feeder Watch will take place on the weekend of February 12, 13, and 14. You may choose either February 12, 13, or 14 (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday) to do your Feeder Watch count. On that day, we ask that you spend some time throughout the day watching your feeders and identifying and counting all birds you observe. For each species, record the maximum number of each species sighted at one time. This way, you will avoid counting the same birds more than once.
Click Here for more information about this project!!!
Join us for a virtual discussion of Dan Egan’s The Death and Life of the Great Lakes!
About the Cabin Fever Book Club:
The Cabin Fever Book Club meets once a month during the fall and winter months to discuss fascinating books on such topics as ecology, environmental history, and environmentalism. The 2020-21 Cabin Fever Book Club meetings will take place from 10:00 a.m. to noon on the dates listed below! Books will be available at the Palmerton and Slatington libraries, Lehigh Gap Nature Center, and on Amazon.com (at a cost). Please contact us at mail@lgnc.org if you have any questions, or if you would like to lead a discussion!
Until we can safely meet in person again, all Book Club meetings will take place on Zoom.
2020-2021 Cabin Fever Book Club Reading List:
November 19, 2020: Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets
December 17, 2020: The Overstory by Richard Powers
January 21, 2021: Seaweed Chronicles by Susan Hand Shetterly
February 18, 2021: The Death and Life of the Great Lake by Dan Egan
Join us for a virtual discussion of Tom Turner’s David Brower!
About the Cabin Fever Book Club:
The Cabin Fever Book Club meets once a month during the fall and winter months to discuss fascinating books on such topics as ecology, environmental history, and environmentalism. The 2020-21 Cabin Fever Book Club meetings will take place from 10:00 a.m. to noon on the dates listed below! Books will be available at the Palmerton and Slatington libraries, Lehigh Gap Nature Center, and on Amazon.com (at a cost). Please contact us at mail@lgnc.org if you have any questions, or if you would like to lead a discussion!
Until we can safely meet in person again, all Book Club meetings will take place on Zoom.
2020-2021 Cabin Fever Book Club Reading List:
November 19, 2020: Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets
December 17, 2020: The Overstory by Richard Powers
January 21, 2021: Seaweed Chronicles by Susan Hand Shetterly
February 18, 2021: The Death and Life of the Great Lake by Dan Egan
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Landscaping for Communities & Wildlife
Get the Latest Resources from our Conservation Landscaping Program:
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News and Current Events:
Michal Kubik Memorial Fund
2020 Nature in Art Virtual Show!
LGNC’s 2020 Nature in Art Virtual Show is now live!
Anita Collins has put together a virtual art show of all winners from past events. To view the show please Click Here!
LGNC Online Learning Series
Introducing a new online video series from LGNC!
While our in-person programs for schools and the community are on hold for the time being, our education team has been busy creating virtual education resources for all to use and enjoy! New videos are now being posted regularly to our YouTube page. In addition to species spotlights, we are putting together a variety of science lessons and virtual tours of the Refuge!
Here is the link to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/LGNC_YouTube
Be sure to like our videos and subscribe to our channel!!!
COVID-19
LGNC Osprey House Update (6/11/20)
Everyone is doing their part in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and so are we at LGNC. In light of current guidelines and the situation facing our nation, the Osprey House will remain closed to the public and all in-person programs will be cancelled until further notice.
This is a disappointment and an inconvenience for us all, but it is an important sacrifice to make to prevent matters from getting worse. We will continue to update the public regularly through Facebook, our website, and emails.
It is important to note that our trails will still remain open to the general public. Please be respectful of any temporary trail closures due to ongoing PPL transmission line work. Even when PPL construction is in progress, there are still plenty of trails to explore, and the Appalachian Trail is still accessible from our parking lot!
We want everyone using our trails to have a safe, healthy, and enriching experience. Hike on established trails only. Use of shortcuts and unofficial trails cause maintenance and safety issues. Please maintain a safe distance of 6 feet from other guests on the trails and in the parking lot.
Also, we ask that folks using our trails follow the 7 principles of Leave No Trace found at this link: https://bit.ly/Leave_No_Trace_LGNC. In particular, we ask that you follow the principle regarding “pack in, pack out.” We do not have the capacity to handle the extra trash from a high influx of visitors. Just stash your trash in your backpack, pockets, etc. and take it with you.
Thank you and be safe and stay healthy!
-LGNC Staff
LGNC Restoration Mini Documentary
The Neffs National Bank EITC
We thank The Neffs National Bank for their generous $10,000 donation in support of LGNC’s environmental education programs for area schools! The Neffs National Bank presented donations to nine educational foundations totaling $100,000. The donations were given in March of 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and were officially presented in September. This donation was made through The Neffs National Bank’s participation in the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program.
Dan Kunkle's Retirement and LGNC Transition!
Thanks to Times News Lehighton for their recent article on Dan Kunkle’s tenure as Executive Director of LGNC! While Dan will be retiring at the end of this month, he will be joining the LGNC Board as Director Emeritus. Current staff members Chad Schwartz and Brian Birchak will serve as Co-directors of the Nature Center beginning on January 1, 2020.
Remembering Bill Mineo
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Bill Mineo, one of LGNC’s founding members. We mourn the loss of this key figure in Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s creation and success. Click here for the Autumn 2017 Wildlife Activist (#81) to read a recent Board member spotlight article on Bill. Also, click here to view Bill’s obituary. Our condolences to the family.